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Orphan Drug Designation for GW's cannabis seizure treatment

Published: 12:27 21 Apr 2016 BST

An orphan with wires attached to his brain.
Epilepsy is the leading cause of death in sufferers of TSC.

Biotech group GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:GWPH LON:GWP) has been granted exclusive approval for its cannabis-based seizure treatment.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation for the group’s cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of the rare genetic disorder, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC).

The drug is the third orphan indication that the group is targeting within it Epidiolec clinical development program. Earlier this month the group commenced phase III clinical trials for the CBD treatment as a therapy to treat seizures in combination with other TSC treatments.

A common symptom of TSC is epilepsy, which occurs in around 80-90% of sufferers and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality.

The Epidiolec  program includes a further four phase III pivotal trials in Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, both rare and fatal forms of childhood-onset epilepsy.

The FDA Orphan Drug Designation entitles GW Pharmaceuticals to a seven-year exclusive market period.

Shares were up almost 2% on AIM this morning to 515p per share. On NASDAQ, GW shares last traded at $86.23 up by around 4%.

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